


Mostly Misconceived

by Syrus



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-14
Updated: 2013-04-14
Packaged: 2017-12-08 11:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/760707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrus/pseuds/Syrus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Phoenix had only known the huge snowball his white lie would turn into, perhaps he wouldn't have said anything at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Miles Edgeworth turned the key in the ignition of his car, had deciding to leave it parked just outside the building wherein lay the office of Phoenix Wright. Edgeworth made this trip in spite of the stories he heard from Phoenix about Maya Fey draining his wallet completely dry due to food expenses, believing that she deserved something for all the abuse she had taken while held hostage during the Engarde trial. He made sure all his car doors were locked before he stepped out and walked towards the office doors.

* * *

Maya Fey sat at the front desk of Phoenix's office, humming along with some music on the radio and tapping out the tune on the desk with a pencil, things going rather slow in the office after the Engarde case. For once, Maya couldn't complain, the whole kidnapping episode causing her usual thirst for adventure to be momentarily quenched; now she was just happy to relax in the comfortable and safe surroundings that an adventure-free life afforded her.

 

Suddenly she heard a knock on the office door, and she wondered if they had another client. Although she was comfortable as she was, she wouldn't say no to a new case to get her mind off of the way she'd almost been starved to death.

"Come in!" she said in her usual cheery voice.

The door opened and Edgeworth stepped in, glancing around the office before his eyes settled on Maya Fey.

"Good afternoon, Maya. I trust everything is well?" his voice pausing for a moment before he asked, "Is Wright available?"

"Oh, hey, Mr. Edgeworth! Nick's actually not here right now...he went to go get us some lunch. I bet he's taking a while to get my order just right." Maya said with a smile, "Was there something you wanted to ask him about?"

 _Actually yes, but how would she take it?_  he thought as he curiously looked into Phoenix's personal office, in case he was listening. When Miles was satisfied that he wasn't being eavesdropped upon, he nodded. "Actually…there was. But it really concerned you much more than it did him."

"A question for me?" Maya said, sounding surprised since Miles never seemed very comfortable taking to her in the past.

"Yes…" Miles said carefully, feeling a little awkward since he wasn't good at being social, "Are you busy tomorrow night?"

At the question, Maya scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, now really wondering why Miles would ask her that.

"No, I don't think I'm doing anything. Were you planning something?" Maya asked innocently.

"Well, I was wondering if you would join me for dinner, perhaps?" Miles asked with a hesitant tone, feeling ever more awkward.

Maya was shocked that Miles actually seemed to be asking her out to dinner, and this realization caused a light blush to come to her cheeks.

"Dinner?" Maya asked shyly.

Miles only nodded in reply, quite embarrassed himself.

"Oh." Maya said, suddenly realizing how awkward this situation was, especially since it was Miles who was asking her this question.

But, she knew that it must have been very difficult for Miles to come and talk with her like this, since he was rather bad at expressing his emotions, so she decided that there was no way she could say no. And besides, she always was curious about Miles and decided this would be an excellent chance to get to know him better, especially since he went out of his way to ask her to dinner.

"I'd love to go." Maya said happily, her tone touched with surprise, still blushing slightly.

Miles nodded again in reply and asked, "Well . . . besides burgers, what else is there that you'll eat?"

On the subject of food, Maya's eyes visibly lit up as she spoke, "Oh, I love all kinds of food. Really, if it tastes good, I'll eat it!"

On the conclusion of her sentence she gave Miles a large smile. Miles, himself, had to gulp. There went his wallet.

Hiding his despair at the fact that his entire check would be written off, he laughed at her cheerful demeanor. "I see being kidnapped didn't take away your spirit."

"You know, one thing that kept me going was thinking of all the wonderful food I would get when everyone finally found me." Maya admitted, the smile not leaving her face.

Maya thought for a moment and then she spoke again, her tone turning just slightly serious, but still staying a bit light, "And, I just wanted to say thanks, Mr. Edgeworth...if it wasn't for your help, I'm not sure if anyone would have found me, especially not as fast as they did!"

"Well… " Miles wasn't sure what else to say, just standing there, clasping his hands.

Before Maya could say another word, the office door flew open and Phoenix came in saying, "Seriously, Maya, why do your orders have to be so complicated? This is--"

Phoenix suddenly noticed that Miles was here as well, and he seemed to be standing rather awkwardly in front of the desk that Maya was sitting at.

"Oh, hey, Edgeworth." Phoenix said, sounding friendly, setting the food he brought down on the desk.

"Hey, Nick! Took you long enough!" Maya piped in, reaching into one of the bags he brought back with him, and immediately began to devour the burger inside.

Miles chuckled and nodded to Wright, and then said, "Well, I should get going…I thought you had work, but it appears that you don't have a case. Perhaps you should take one--seeing as you have so much free time." Upon saying this, the prosecutor turned and headed to the door, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, never feeling comfortable in social situations such as these.

Maya quickly put her burger down, swallowing what she was chewing, speaking in an urgent tone, "Wait, Mr. Edgeworth! You didn't tell me where you were taking me to dinner!"

At this, Phoenix raised his eyebrows in surprise and he said, "Dinner?"

He then looked at Miles questioningly.

Miles stopped and then his face turned red, slamming his eyes shut as he then remembered that he forgot. "I'll be here at five tomorrow, Maya." That was all he was willing to let out before running out the door, which was rather…unlike him.

As he glanced at Miles running away, Phoenix was a little dumbfounded by what was going on. "…Maya?"

"Well…Mr. Edgeworth came into the office, asking to talk to you, but then when I said you were getting the burgers, he told me that he wanted to take me out to dinner." Maya said thoughtfully, smiling slightly to herself.

"Ahh…wait, Edgeworth?" Phoenix was still trying to digest the information in his brain. "He did what?"

"Yeah, he asked me to go have dinner. With him. Do you believe it?" Maya said, sounding a little surprised herself.

Phoenix looked almost hurt but masked it well as he smiled for her. "Well, no. But…I'm sure he's just trying to get out and actually talk to other people for non-work related reasons."

"Yeah..." Maya agreed with a little nod.

Then she thought for a moment before a slightly anxious and confused expression materialized on her face.

"Nick...since he asked me to dinner…would this make it a date? I've never been on a date before..." Maya asked in a shy tone, looking at Phoenix questioningly.

"I suppose," the attorney said, looking thoughtful, still feeling very hurt about the whole idea, finding it very difficult to keep this hurt out of his tone.

"What do you think I should wear?" Maya went on to ask, as if Phoenix would be an expert on ladies' clothing.

"I don't know, Maya," Phoenix stammered. He couldn't even imagine her wearing anything other then her channeling outfit. "Aren't you just going to go in that?" He waved his hand at the outfit in question.

"In this?! No, way Nick! I mean, in all the movies I've seen, all the girls going out on dates got all dressed up in fancy dresses and everything!" Maya said, sounding dead sure.

"Alright! But I don't know much about clothes, so I don't know what to tell you!" Phoenix said, at a bit of a loss.

"Geez, you're no help, Nick." Maya said with a pouty face.

He laughed at the look on Maya's face and said, "Well, I never really went on dates at all…"

"You didn't?" Maya said in surprise.

"Not really. I had too much to think about, in school." Phoenix said, now looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Too much to think about? What do you mean?" Maya said, completely missing Phoenix's hint.

"Well, I was really busy!" he said, scratching his head sheepishly. "With--stuff."

"Too busy, even for one little date?" Maya said, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

Phoenix nodded and pretended to be looking for something, humming momentarily. "Yep."

Maya kept looking at Phoenix in confusion and then she said in disbelief, "No way...you had to have at least had a crush on someone!"

"Ah well . . ." He said as he unconsciously blushed red, really wanting to stay away from this conversation.

A big smile materialized on Maya's face when she realized she was on to something.

"I knew it! Who was it, was it some girl you knew in college?" she asked in a rush, sounding a little excited.

"Well, he was the reas--wait, why are you asking me that?" Phoenix stammered, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Maya opened her mouth to ask further questions, when Phoenix's comment sunk in. She realized that he had said "he" instead of "she", and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

Phoenix looked in his desk drawer and slid a chocolate bar her way that he found, hoping that would be enough to distract her away from this conversation, "Here, you're probably still hungry."

Maya took the chocolate bar, but she did not eat it. She thought over all the times that Phoenix seemed to avoid conversations about relationships, and it didn't stand out so much then, but now it all made sense.

Finally the smile returned to her face and she said, rather loudly to Phoenix's dismay, "Whoa, Nick, I didn't know you were gay!"

"I'm not!" he protested, slamming his hand down. "I have to object to that statement."

"No, Nick, it's okay! I'm totally okay with you being gay!" Maya said, still talking a bit too loudly for Phoenix's comfort.

"Maya! Stop that!" Phoenix said, blushing fully. "It's--complicated."

"It can't be that complicated...you were just about to tell me how this guy was the reason you did something..." Maya trailed off as she thought she realized something.

As Phoenix looked at her questioningly as she thought, she suddenly yelled, startling him slightly.

"Ahh!! I know who it was!" she said, sounding very excited now.

The attorney jumped and blinked, gulping nervously. "You...do?"

Now her smile turned teasing, "Yeah...you were about to say 'reason you became a lawyer', weren't you?"

He looked away. "Ah, no."

"Oh, you so were!" Maya said, knowing that she was hot on the trail, "That means it could only be one person!"

Phoenix really was nervous now and he had managed to fall in his chair, putting his face in his hands. "Maya--"

"It has to be Larry! Oh, you have a crush on Larry, that's so cute!!" Maya said, practically squealing as she said it.

"Maya, how could you guess that it was E--?" Then he realized what she said and laughed. Then, he spoke in a dead pan voice, with just the touch of amusement, "...no, Maya. It's not Larry."

"Nick, I'm so glad you finally told me! I can totally help you! Maybe I can talk to Larry and see what he thinks!" Maya said, going into plotting mode, not even realizing the major slip that Phoenix just made.

"...it's okay, Maya..." Phoenix smiled in relief but shook his head. "I'll tell him myself---later."

 _WAY later_ , he thought to himself, shaking his head.

* * *

Maya wasn't quite sure what to wear for this outing, since she never really went out for dinner like this before. She looked in her closet and found a black dress that someone had given her as a present one year for her birthday.

 

 _Who'd have thought that this thing would actually come in handy one day?_  Maya thought, giving the dress a look over, deciding that was the best thing she had to wear to an outing like this.

She put it on and felt a little awkward wearing the dress when she looked at herself in the mirror. She decided to not think about this too much as she put her hair in a bun. After studying herself in the mirror some more now that she was totally ready, she decided that maybe this dress look wasn't so bad after all.

 _Maybe I could try wearing dresses more..._ Maya thought, smiling shyly to herself as she left to go to Phoenix's office.

When she finally arrived, she opened the door and then waited inside for Miles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Miles had taken the time to prepare himself, and decided that wearing a regular suit was in order, since he did not really feel like wearing a magenta suit that night. As he made his way to the office, he held in his right hand a bouquet of carnations and lilies, and made sure that his cravat was in place. Taking a deep breath, he again opened the office door.

As soon as the office door opened, Maya looked to the door, surprised to find Miles in a regular suit, not in his magenta for once. Maya thought back and realized that she had never seen him wearing anything else.

"Hi, Mr. Edgeworth! Oh! You didn't have to bring me flowers..." Maya said, blushing when she noticed the flowers in his hand.

He blushed a little bit as well and walked over to the desk, handing them to her. "Nonsense," he said. "I wanted to."

Maya felt herself blushing a bit more when she saw him blush, and she accepted the bouquet, quickly finding a vase in the office to fill with water and she put the flowers in.

As she did this, she shyly glanced over to Miles and said, "You look nice..."

Miles kept blushing as he cleared his throat in slight embarrassment, and then he said, "You don't look so bad, yourself. Black suits you."

A grin came to Maya's face and she said, "Thanks."

Then they made their way out of the office, and to Miles' car.

"So...where are we going?" Maya asked, finally curious.

"Ah, still a surprise," he replied, getting into the car and starting it, waiting for Maya to get in. "You'll like it, I'm sure."

Maya got into the passenger seat and immediately noticed how cushy and comfortable the seats of Miles' car were.

As they began to drive, Maya said, "Wow...I wish I had a car like this!"

"Heh. So do many others." he said, unable to resist gloating a little bit.

He started the car and drove out of the parking lot, glancing at her. "You know, you outdid yourself. You're like a radiant star."

"Awww, Mr. Edgeworth...you're too nice." Maya said, a shy smile coming to her face, her face flushing from the compliment.

After driving less than an hour, mostly just listening to music on the car's impressive sound system, Maya noticed that they were in Hollywood.

"We're going to a restaurant in Hollywood! How exciting!" Maya said, now sounding very elated, opening her car window to look at all the sights as they went down Hollywood boulevard.

Miles didn't reply, just smiling to himself at how excited Maya seemed over all of this, pleased that she already seemed to be enjoying herself. Finally he made a turn on a small and narrow street, and went up the large hill that the restaurant sat on top of.

When they got to the top of the hill and then exited the car to allow it to be valet parked, Maya took a good look around and was amazed with everything she saw, the restaurant was a tall, ornate building that was beautifully lit up, and when she turned around, she saw the lights of Hollywood shining below them. She even saw a small pagoda with a lake below it, surrounded with trees right in front of the restaurant.

"Wow, Mr. Edgeworth, this place is amazing! What's it called?" Maya asked, the wonder she felt obvious in her voice.

Miles gave her a small smile and replied, "It's called Yamashiro. It's a Japanese restaurant. Trust me, it has excellent food. Shall we?"

Miles held out his arm for her to take and then he led her up the stairs into the restaurant. He walked up to the host table and informed them he was here for the Edgeworth reservation for two. The hostess smiled at both of them and led them further into the restaurant.

As they made their way to their table, this restaurant kept getting more and more interesting to Maya, who couldn't get enough of its surroundings. She noticed that in the center of the restaurant, there seemed to be an area that was open to the night sky and had a koi pond right in the center. Finally they were brought to their table, and Maya was happy to see that they were seated next to a window that would allow her a view of the Hollywood city lights as she ate.

When the hostess handed them their menus and left, Maya took a look at the menu and Miles could see that same light in her eye that he had noticed when he had mentioned food to Maya the day before.

"There's just so many good things to eat!" Maya said, sounding astonished, and personally wishing she could try everything.

Miles knew he would probably regret saying this later, but Maya just looked so happy that he couldn't resist, "You may have whatever you want."

"Really?" Maya said, a big grin quickly spreading on her face.

When Miles nodded back at her and gave her a small smile in response, Maya's smile being much too infectious to resist, she said, "Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth!"

After a moment of silence as they both scanned their menus for what food they might want to order, Maya broke the silence.

"Umm…Mr. Edgeworth…I was just wondering…why did you want to take me out to dinner?" Maya asked, now looking at Miles questioningly.

At the direct question, Miles felt his face flush and he found himself hesitating as he answered, always finding it very difficult to reveal his feelings about anything.

"Well…I…never had a chance to really thank you for your help during my trial. I just wanted to let you know that I truly appreciated it." Miles said, breaking eye contact with her, now feeling just a bit awkward, but his tone was grateful.

Maya looked amused at how hard this seemed for Miles to say and replied cheerily, "Mr. Edgeworth, you're my friend! If I had to, I would do it again."

Miles felt really touched when Maya told him this, so he glanced back in her direction with a tiny, but genuinely happy smile on his face and softly said, "Thank you."

At this time, the waiter came for their orders, Maya ordered two or three appetizers, and then four things from the main menu. As Miles glanced at the prices of the things she ordered, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He, himself, stuck to only ordering one thing on the main menu, now seriously wondering how Phoenix could continuously afford to feed this girl. But he tried not to let this get to him, remembering that he did tell her she could have whatever she wanted, and he knew he couldn't complain since when it came down to it, he owed her his life, since she saved him from rotting in jail.

When the waiter was done taking their orders, an awkward silence settled between them since they weren't quite sure what to talk about.

"Ahh…so was there anything I missed while I was…out of the country?" Miles asked in hesitation, hoping that they could make some conversation to fill the silence.

Miles could see Maya really thinking about it, so he wondered what she might say.

"Oh, nothing much really. Nick and I worked on cases like usual, and he was definitely more mopey than when you were here. And…I guess was accused of murder another time, but of course Nick saved me again." Maya said, sounding thoughtful, but not that serious, even when she mentioned the murder accusation.

Miles just nodded his head in reply to everything she said, but when she got to the 'accused of murder again' part, his eyes went wide and his mouth just about dropped open, and he said in confusion and surprise, "What? How?"

At his question, Miles saw what he thought was hurt and regret flash across Maya's face before she let out a little sigh and sadly said, "My aunt and another woman plotted together to pin a murder they committed on me while I was in the middle of a channeling exercise. My aunt did it so that Pearl, who's her daughter, could be the Master of our village, when it's really supposed to be me one day…"

"My…condolences…" Miles said in as comforting a tone he could muster.

He never was someone good at comfort, so he felt awkward at being suddenly put in this position. But he did know what it was like to have someone in your family (or at least someone you considered to be family) stab you in the back, so he could at least relate on that level with her. He then thought a bit more about what she said, and realized that she mentioned something he didn't quite understand.

"Maya, out of curiosity…what do you mean by 'channeling exercise'?" Miles asked, his eyebrows now scrunched together as he tried to figure out what she meant.

Maya looked at him in surprise for a second, wondering how he didn't know, but then she realized that there is no way he could have known, since it was Franziska that researched her channeling technique for the case, not Miles.

"Well…I can…channel the dead." Maya said, figuring that was the most simple explanation of what she could do.

"Huh?" Miles said, looking at her in complete disbelief, for once, struck completely speechless.

"The way that it works is that I call to the spirit, and then I take the last physical form the spirit had before they died." Maya said, sounding considerably happier now that the subject changed from her aunt's betrayal to channeling.

Miles still could not quite wrap his head around this idea, not able to say anything, just giving her an extremely strange look.

"Let me show you." Maya said, giving him a little smile.

Miles wasn't sure what was about to happen when Maya closed her eyes, but he blinked and all of a sudden someone completely different was sitting right in front of him. His mouth dropped open. Sure she was dressed the same as Maya and had the same hairstyle Maya did, but she definitely was different. The most obviously different feature about this person being that their chest seemed to be all but spilling out of the dress that Maya wore.

"Hello, Mr. Edgeworth. How have you been?" The person asked him, an amused yet friendly smirk on their face.

"M-Maya?" Miles found himself stammering, unable to believe what was right in front of his eyes.

"Not quite. But I suppose you're rather close." The tone of this person now getting slightly teasing in a playful way, the smirk staying on their face.

Miles was certain that he had never seen this expression on Maya's face or heard Maya speak in this tone before, so this definitely was a different person. He thought carefully about what Maya said before she left, and he studied the person's face who sat in front of him, trying very hard to keep his eyes away from her chest, the task much more difficult than he could have imagined.

After a few moments of observation, he noted that she did look very different from Maya, but there were a few similarities, the nose, the shape of the face...Miles had a guess who it could be, hoping that he was right.

"Might you be…Ms. Mia Fey?" Miles asked, sounding astonished.

"I can see why Phoenix thinks so highly of you. Excellent deduction." Mia said, giving him a smile.

Miles just stared at her, trying to take it all in, finally saying, "I never knew your whole family was so…gifted."

"I suppose all of us have our own special talents." Mia now replied with a small grin.

The silence settled for a few moments, when Miles suddenly asked, unable to resist, "Wright…talked to you about me?"

To this, Mia had to smile and she said, "Quite a bit, actually. I don't think he even realized it half the time."

Mia looked away from Miles for a moment and then she noticed that the food that Maya and Miles had ordered seemed to have arrived, so she quickly said, "Well, it looks like your food is here. Nice to see you again, Edgeworth."

In the moment that Miles' attention was called away from Mia toward their arriving meal, she left, and again Maya was back. When Miles looked back at her, he almost gave a little start when he saw that Maya had returned, but he held it in so he would not attract the attention of their server. Their table hardly had enough room for all the food that was ordered, and it took quite a bit of maneuvering to get all of it on there.

When the server had wished them a nice meal and left them alone, Maya said, her tone just a bit proud, "Well, I'm not sure what you guys talked about, but that's how it's done!"

"You really are something, Maya." Miles said with a tiny smile, still thinking about what Mia said about Phoenix.

Maya only smiled in reply, and then she dug into the food right away. Miles could only stare at Maya as she gobbled down her food. Miles never really believed Phoenix when he described the way that she ate, but now he saw that he definitely wasn't kidding when he said that she literally inhaled her food. He wondered how she managed to get it all down and not choke, but he decided to chalk this up as one of her "special talents".

As she was just finishing chewing the last bit of her meal, she said, "So, what did you and my sister talk about?"

Miles blushed slightly as he answered, "Ahh, well, we talked briefly about your talents and…Wright."

Miles found himself mumbling slightly when he mentioned Phoenix, talk about the conversation embarrassing him. But, even if Miles mumbled, Maya heard the mention of Phoenix clearly, and this caught her interest.

"You guys talked about Nick?" Maya asked, finally swallowing her food, waiting eagerly for Miles' answer.

Miles felt himself flushing a bit more, taking a nervous gulp, and then answering, "Ahh, yes…your sister mentioned how Wright talked to her about me a lot."

"Really? That's sort of funny…but I guess it makes sense since I know Nick looked up to you." Maya said, sounding a little surprised and amused at first, but then sounding excited as she completed her sentence, "But anyway, I had this interesting conversation with Nick today."

Miles sighed, relieved that the subject had changed, and he slowly replied, "I see."

Maya giggled as she thought of the conversation she had with Phoenix, and said, "Nick told me he has a crush on Larry!"

What Maya said felt like a complete slap in the face for Miles, especially since this news was unexpected.

"What?" Miles said in disbelief.

"Yeah! Isn't it cute?" Maya said in a cheery voice.

" _Butz_  of all people?" Miles said, now feeling a little depressed, forgetting to mask the hurt and disappointment he felt since he was so shocked about Maya's statement.

Even if Maya was happy about conveying what she thought Phoenix told her, she didn't miss that Miles seemed less than excited to hear this news.

Her eyebrows scrunched slightly in concern as she asked in hesitation, "Yeah, Larry…are you…okay, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Miles was desperately trying to pull himself back together when he responded to Maya, but he just couldn't manage it as he softly spoke, diverting his eyes away from hers, "I thought it would be me…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When he got the courage to see Maya's reaction, he saw her eyes were wide in surprise, now realizing that he had said entirely too much in his inadvertent admission.

Miles looked away from her again, now not sure what to say, stammering, "I…I…ahh…"

Now the look on Maya's face turned compassionate, when she realized that Miles had just revealed that he had feelings for Phoenix.

"Oh, Mr. Edgeworth! I wish I could help you, but just today Phoenix told me he liked Larry…" Maya said with a small, sympathetic pout, wishing that she could do more to help Miles' situation.

Miles let out a sigh and said, "Don't worry…I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

The tense silence hung between them for a few moments, but then Maya decided to change the subject so that she wouldn't make Miles feel even more sad.

"Well, umm…we should get dessert!" Maya said, giving Miles a bright smile in an attempt to change his mood.

As Maya picked up the dessert menu, going on about which desserts she liked and what she thought she should get, Miles gave her a small smile, trying desperately to push out of his mind what Maya just told him, knowing she was trying her best to cheer him up.

_This night was to show Maya that she's appreciated, not to brood over anything concerning me._  Miles told himself firmly, putting on a happier face for Maya, although what he heard about Phoenix disheartened him greatly.

Thankfully the waiter came to their table to ask if they wanted dessert, and Maya definitely did. She ordered four desserts on the menu, and when Miles glanced at their prices, he declined on having any himself, not much in the mood for one anyway.

With great effort, Miles kept his mind off of what he learned from Maya about Phoenix, just trying to focus on whatever Maya felt like chattering about. He found that he actually was enjoying his time on this "date", knowing that he would be having an even better time if it wasn't for the fact about Phoenix he just found out.

When Maya had gobbled her way through her desserts, which she kept raving about how fantastic they all were, Miles asked for the bill.

_$285?!_ Miles thought, his mouth practically dropping open at first, but then he thought about it a little more,  _Although, I did tell her she could have whatever she wanted, and she really does deserve this._

He paid with his credit card, and when his card was returned, he left a generous tip at the table. As he got up from his chair, he gave Maya a small smile and offered Maya his arm again as they exited the restaurant. Miles then claimed his car at the valet desk and they started back to Phoenix's apartment, where Maya had asked Miles to drop her off.

The ride back was also spent in silence, Miles lost in his thoughts about Phoenix and Larry, Maya once again appreciating the impressive sound system in Miles' car. Finally they pulled up into Phoenix's apartment complex, and Miles parked the car, exiting it and following Maya to the apartment door to make sure Maya got inside safely.

Upon reaching the door, Maya turned to Miles, giving him a cheery smile, saying, "Thanks for everything, Mr. Edgeworth. I had a really good time."

Miles gave her a small smile, and said in an uncharacteristically shy tone, "Please Maya, don't call me 'Mr. Edgeworth'. Call me…Miles."

He felt very awkward asking her to call him by his first name, but he felt like this was the right thing to do for some reason. Maya, on the other hand, was surprised but happy, since she saw that she succeeded in making him feel more comfortable around her, and she was always happy to make a new friend.

With a happy little nod, she said, "Okay, I will. Thanks for everything! I guess I'll see you later, Miles."

The small smile was still on his face when he said, "Good bye, Maya."

With a little acknowledging nod, he turned around and made his way back to his car. Though he still felt down trodden about the information he heard about Phoenix, somehow he felt just a bit better knowing that he found the courage to open up to someone new.

* * *

Maya was surprised to see that Phoenix wasn't home when she came back to his apartment, after returning with Miles after their dinner.

 

_I wonder where he is?_  Maya thought, now really curious about Phoenix's whereabouts.

She thought he would want to know what happened on her outing with Miles, but she figured that he must have gotten a case while she was gone or something. She quickly wrote out a note telling Phoenix that she would be visiting Pearl in Kurain over the weekend, and that she would be back on the coming Monday and left it by his phone for him to find. After that, she hurriedly changed back into her regular channeling outfit, and caught a cab to the train station to catch a train to Kurain Village.

* * *

Within a few hours, she found herself back in her home village, feeling happy to be back. As soon as she made her way into the living room of her house, she saw that Pearl was watching tv when she walked in.

 

"Hey, Pearly, I'm back!" Maya said loudly, getting Pearl's attention.

Pearl turned around and smiled, immediately getting up from where she was sitting, running over to Maya, and gave her a hug.

"Mystic Maya!" Pearl said in excitement as they hugged.

When they pulled back from each other, Pearl looked around and noticed that Phoenix had not come with Maya.

With an expression of confusion, Pearl said, "Mystic Maya, where's Mr. Nick? I thought you would want to bring your special someone home with you."

Maya felt her face flush the same way it always did when Pearl brought up this topic, and now she decided it was time for Pearl to face the truth, especially now that she found out that Phoenix was indeed in love with someone.

"Look, Pearly, I think we need to talk." Maya said gently, knowing that what she had to say would not be easy for Pearl to hear.

"What about, Mystic Maya?" Pearl asked sounding very concerned and serious.

Maya let out a little sigh, hating to disappoint her, and then she bent down so that they were about eye to eye.

"Pearly, you know Nick is very special to me, but we aren't together. He isn't my 'special someone'." Maya said with hesitation, waiting for her response.

"But, you always have nice things to say about him and you two are together all the time! How could you not be each other's special someones?" Pearl said, sounding defensive.

Now Maya felt especially bad, since Pearl's eyebrows were scrunched in confusion and disappoint. Maya choose her next words very carefully.

"Well, Pearly, I just help him out on his case work, you know that. Nick and I are just friends." Maya said gently.

Pearl seemed to consider this for a while before replying in a very saddened tone, "Oh."

After there was silence for a few seconds, Maya spoke again, sounding just a bit amused, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Besides, Nick loves someone."

"What!? Did Mr. Nick tell you he loves someone else and break your heart?!" Pearl said, starting to get angry.

"Huh?" Maya said, feeling confused for a second before quickly saying, "Oh, no no no! I want to help him tell the person he loves! I'm totally okay with it!"

"Really?" Pearl said, not quite convinced, looking at Maya suspiciously.

"Really." Maya said, sounding very sure, trying her best to erase any doubt in Pearl's mind about it.

"Who does he love then?" Pearl said in hesitation, not quite ready to accept the idea that Phoenix could love someone else, but deciding to go with it since Maya sounded like she was alright with the concept.

"He told me that he loves his friend, Larry." Maya said, a grin breaking out on her face as she spoke.

"His friend Larry…" Pearl repeated, digesting this new information and trying to see if she knew this person, or at least knew of them.

Then all of a sudden, she looked perplexed and said, "Wait a second. Isn't Larry another man?"

The smile was still on Maya's face as she replied, "Yeah, but Nick loves him anyway."

Pearl silently took this in, and finally said, "…ohhh."

But when she thought about it some more, Pearl realized that she'd never heard of one man loving another man in that way and so she asked, "Mystic Maya…is it okay for one man to love another man?"

To this, all Maya could do was laugh at the very serious expression on Pearl's face as she asked the question and she replied, "Of course it's okay! And Nick is our friend, so we should help him!"

Pearl made a stubborn little sound when Maya said that, not exactly feeling okay with helping Phoenix get together with someone else, but she did not want to disappoint Maya, so she put a fist to her other hand and said in determination, "Alright, we'll help Mr. Nick!"

"Yeah!" Maya said, relieved that Pearl took everything much better than she was expecting, and excited that now she had someone on her side also wanting to help Phoenix.

Maya began to think of how she could help when it suddenly hit her.

"Oh, Pearly, I know what we can do! We can call Larry ourselves and tell him so that Nick doesn't chicken out if he tried to tell Larry himself!" Maya said, feeling like a genius.

"But, Mystic Maya, shouldn't Mr. Nick tell Larry him — " Pearl started saying, sounding unsure.

"Come on, this is the best way to help! We're doing the hard part for him!" Maya said, now sounding really excited about her plot, getting up from crouching, already whipping out her phone and dialing Larry's phone number, leaving the call on speaker so that Pearl could hear the conversation too.

"Oh, okay." Pearl just agreed, watching to see what would happen.

The phone rang about two times before it was picked up.

"Hello? Oh, Alika, I knew you would call!" Larry said in a gushing tone, obviously not looking at his caller id before he picked up his phone.

Maya scrunched her eyebrows in confusion before she said, "It's Maya, not Alika…"

"Oh." Larry said, sounding just slightly embarrassed before he continued saying in a cheerful tone, "Hey, Maya, what's up?"

"I have to tell you something important." Maya said in a bubbly tone, unable to keep herself from smiling as she spoke.

"Yeah?" Larry said very curiously.

"I was talking to Nick today and I found out something very interesting…" Maya said in a teasing tone.

"Oh, like what? Don't tell me that Nick scored a hot girlfriend before I did!" Larry said, sounding very melodramatic all of a sudden.

"Huh? No! It's better news than that! Nick is in love with you!" Maya said, first sounding confused, and then sounding excited when she broke the news.

"Man, I knew he couldn't have –WHAT?!" Larry said, sounding relieved in the beginning of his sentence, and then ending up sounding flabbergasted when the rest of Maya's comment sunk in.

"Yeah, Nick has a crush on you!" Maya repeated in just slightly a more excited tone, if that was possible.

"Wait a second, Maya…are you sure? I always thought Nick was into chicks?" Larry spoke finally in complete disbelief, his tone very unsure.

"No, he told me himself! Well…sorta…" Maya said the first part of her sentence very confidently, but mumbled the last part, not wanting her statement to seem less true.

"Really…?" Larry said, still not quite knowing what to believe.

The line was silent for a moment as Larry thought about everything, trying to make sense of it, and he finally decided that if Maya talked to Phoenix himself, the whole thing must be true.

"So  _that's_  why Nick would never let me set him up with anyone!" Larry suddenly said, sounding as he had just come to a major revelation.

"Yeah, it must be." Maya replied, sounding as cheerful as always.

Larry thought a bit more about this, and now the idea of Phoenix liking him as more than a friend really weirded him out, and he still wasn't quite sure how to react to everything, deciding he had to talk to Phoenix as soon as he possibly could, so he quickly and frantically said, "Wow…ummm, Maya…I think I have to go. I'll talk to you more later!"

Larry hung up the phone before anything else could be said.

Maya looked smug as she hung up her own phone, and she said, "Well, I think our job is done!"

Then she noticed that Pearl had her eyebrows scrunched together in though, not seeming really thrilled with the results of the call.

"Are you sure, Mystic Maya? Larry didn't exactly seem happy when he found out about how Mr. Nick felt." Pearl said, sounding slightly worried, biting on her thumbnail nervously.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure. I can't wait to go back to the city and tell Nick the news! He'll be so happy to know that we told Larry for him!" Maya said, sounding so sure that she'd done the right thing.

"Okay…I hope so…" Pearl said, agreeing since Maya seemed so sure, but somehow she didn't feel as happy as she thought she should have.

After a moment, Pearl spoke again, sounding just a bit shy, "Mystic Maya…I thought that if Mr. Nick was your special someone, we all could be a family together."

As Maya heard what Pearl said, her excitement came down a few notches and then she bent down to be eye level with Pearl again and replied tenderly, "Nick doesn't have to be my special someone for us to be a family, Pearly…we already are! We all care about each other, and that's all that matters."

At this statement from Maya, Pearl gave her a genuine smile, giving her a sudden hug, saying, "Thanks, Mystic Maya!"

Maya just smiled in reply and returned the hug, now really looking forward to telling Phoenix of all the trouble she saved him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

On Monday afternoon, Phoenix had the cab he was in pull up to his apartment complex and then he paid the fee. It was a bit high, since he had taken a trip to the mountains for the weekend, but he felt it was well worth it since he had been a bit depressed about the news of Miles' date with Maya. After hearing about it, he knew that he'd just be moping around on the weekend, and he certainly didn't want Maya to see him in that state after her date, knowing that she would ask him questions until she got to the bottom of everything.

 _I should be happy for them…for_ _him_ _, shouldn't I?_  Phoenix thought to himself as he made his way back up to his apartment.

He'd decided to spend the weekend alone, trying to sort through all of his feelings for Miles and make sense of them. He'd felt a lot more hurt when he heard the news of the date than he let show to Maya, and the time alone let him get over it enough to at least act happy when Maya would undoubtedly tell him about the whole thing.

 _It's useless to get hurt over Miles falling in love with someone else…it's not as if I told him how I felt and then this happened,_ Phoenix thought, silently kicking himself for not letting his feelings be known sooner,  _All I can do now is be happy that he's found someone…_

But this line of thought depressed him once again, so he pushed it away as he opened his apartment door.

"Nick! You're finally back! I was wondering what happened to you! You weren't even here when I got back from dinner with Miles." Maya said, excited to see him since she wanted to tell him what she told Larry.

"Hey Maya. Wait, 'Miles'? Since when did you start calling him that?" Phoenix asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise.

"Oh, he asked me to call him that when dropped me back here." Maya said with a smile.

"Ahh, I see." Phoenix replied simply, suddenly getting mixed feelings over this.

He felt happy that Miles had opened up to someone new, but in a way he also felt jealous since Miles really hated people to call him by his first name, and for him to suddenly ask Maya to…it was obvious that Maya made quite an impression on him.

"So where were you anyway?" Maya asked, bringing attention back to Phoenix's absence the whole weekend.

"Oh, I just went up to the mountains for a little peace and quiet." Phoenix said, hoping she wouldn't ask him too many questions about it.

"Really? Just like that? You didn't even go with anyone, or even have a case?" Maya said, scrunching her eyebrows in thought, the whole thing sounding a little weird to her since Phoenix wasn't usually the type to run off and have a little vacation.

"No, I just like spending time up there is all." Phoenix said, avoiding her eye contact a little, smiling a little sheepishly.

"Well, okay…" Maya said, not really convinced, but if this is what Phoenix was insisting, there was no reason she had to keep asking him about it.

"Anyway…how was your…date?" Phoenix said, having a bit of trouble getting the word "date" out of his mouth.

Suddenly it rushed back to Maya's mind what she found out from Miles during their time at the restaurant.

She didn't want Phoenix to feel guilty about being in love with someone else while Miles was in love with him, so she brushed over the description, skipping excitedly to her news about Larry, "Oh, it was pretty…interesting. The restaurant was definitely fantastic. But anyway, I have something very important to tell you!"

"What is it?" Phoenix asked, wondering what possibly could have gotten her so excited.

"I told him for you!" Maya said, looking like she would burst from glee.

All Phoenix could do was give her a totally confused look in return and say, "Told who what exactly?"

"Larry of course!" Maya replied in a teasing tone, "I told him about your crush!"

At this admission from Maya, Phoenix's eyes went wide with disbelief, his mouth dropped open, and all he could do for a few moments was stare at her. Maya was about to say something to break this awkward silence when Phoenix finally did it for her.

"You did  _what_?!" Phoenix said, not quite able to wrap his mind around what Maya just told him.

"Yeah, I told him so you wouldn't chicken out yourself." Maya said, thinking he was much too shocked to tell her how happy he was about what she did.

Every second more he thought about what Maya said, the deeper the sinking feeling he got.

 _What could Larry possibly be thinking right now? Who might he be yelling this to?_  Phoenix thought, now starting to panic a little.

"I…I gotta go!" Phoenix said, just dropping his bag down where he was standing in the apartment and then running out of the door.

Maya was shocked at the speed Phoenix vacated the apartment, but he figured he must be rushing over to Larry to share in the good news.

 _I'm really good at this thing…Maybe I should make a business about it or something…hmmm…'Maya's dating service', I like the sound of that!_  Maya thought to herself, feeling like it was a job well done.

Phoenix, on the other hand, ran straight to Larry's apartment, not even thinking to call to see if he was there in his scattered state of mind, the only thing he could think of was fixing the result of Maya's dreadfully wrong misconception.

* * *

Feeling incredibly out of breath, Phoenix finally got to Larry's apartment, having run all the way. He doubled over slightly, gasping for air as he knocked on Larry's door, hoping to god he was home and that this trip wasn't wasted.

 

Larry finally opened the door and was surprised to find a very tired Phoenix waiting for him there.

"Hey, Larry…" Phoenix said, still panting slightly from the run over to the apartment.

"Whoa, Nick, what's up? Did you just run a marathon or something?" Larry said, giving Phoenix a very confused look.

"Look, Larry, we really need to talk. Can you please just let me in?" Phoenix said, slowly recovering from running, sounding just a bit annoyed because of the situation he ended up in because of Maya.

"Umm…okay…" Larry said, now sounding awkward, suddenly remembering what Maya had told him on the phone.

When Larry shut the door behind them, he said, "I tried to call you a bunch of times over the weekend. Where did you go man?"

"I just went up to the mountains for the weekend. Anyway, I'm here because I know Maya told you something— " Phoenix started to say, jumping straight to the point, deciding that if he didn't get to saying what he wanted to say, it was no use running straight over here right when he returned if he didn't.

Suddenly Larry cut Phoenix off, sounding much more serious than Phoenix could remember him sounding in a long time, saying, "Don't say it, Nick…I know you're one of the many people that fell for the infamous Larry Butz charm…not that I can blame you, I really am quite hard to resist. But, you must know…this relationship won't work out…it's Alika who's won my heart, and so I couldn't even think of giving my heart to another."

As Larry actually spouted all of this to him, Phoenix barely resisted the very strong urge to roll his eyes at Larry, and just stuck to speaking in an irritated tone, "Larry, I don't like you that way. Maya just got the wrong – "

"No, no, Nick, you don't have to deny it just because it hurts…you have to accept it and then move on." Larry said, his tone now getting just a bit melodramatic.

"Larry, would you just listen to me? I don't – " Phoenix said, getting annoyed and frustrated at how obviously he was being ignored by Larry.

"Dude, I was a little weirded out at first, but I know you couldn't help but have the hots for me, so I completely understand – " Larry started saying in a tone that was just a bit smug before Phoenix cut him off this time.

"It's Edgeworth, not you!" Phoenix finally yelled, losing his temper a little, "I love Miles!"

When a surprised look came to Larry's eyes and he actually stopped speaking for a second to look at Phoenix in shock, Phoenix also looked surprised, realizing that he'd blurted out the last thing he'd ever wanted to tell Larry.

"Oh, no way…you have the hots for Edgey?" Larry started saying in shock, but then his voice turned teasing, "Now it all makes sense the way you kept talking about him all the time and following him around the way you did when we were kids."

Phoenix flushed when Larry mentioned the time they were kids, just shaking his head, unable to keep himself from feeling that he'd landed himself into a much worse position than he was before he came to Larry's apartment.

Larry seemed to think for a moment and then he said in a very teasing tone, "You know, I think I'll help you out, since I was sure I just broke your heart a minute ago."

"No, Larry, I don't think I want any help." Phoenix said, now sounding the slightest bit frantic.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Larry caught this franticness in Phoenix's tone, and this made him even more certain that he wanted to help, interpreting the tone as Phoenix being scared to do anything about this on his own rather than Phoenix being afraid that Larry would completely bungle things in his attempt to help.

When Phoenix saw Larry suddenly whipping out his cell phone, his eyes went wide and he said, "You wouldn't!"

In reply, Larry just smiled, looking up a particular number in his phone book, and hitting the call button even before Phoenix could react.

"This is Edgeworth." came the voice from Larry's phone.

"Hey, Edgey!" Larry said, a big smile on face due to the expression on Phoenix's face.

Phoenix could hear Miles letting out an annoyed sigh and saying impatiently, "What is it, Butz? Unlike some people, I actually have a lot of work to do."

"Oh, I just wanted to give you a message for Nick." Larry said, almost laughing when he saw Phoenix's mouth drop open.

"From…Wright?" Miles said, just a bit of interest now in his tone at the mention of Phoenix.

"Yeah…Nick had something very important to tell you and he wanted you to meet him tonight in Gourd Lake Park at seven." Larry said, noticing that Phoenix's face seemed to have paled a little.

Miles seemed to be thinking for a moment, since the line was silent, and then he finally spoke in an irritated tone, "Good bye, Butz."

With that, Miles had disconnected the phone and Phoenix was left looking at Larry feeling a jumble of emotions, just trying to breathe and get his thoughts in order.

"Well, there you go. Now you can tell Edgey yourself!" Larry said, a happy kind of smirk coming to his face.

This look from Larry just set Phoenix off, causing him to yell, "I am going to kill you, Larry!!"

Phoenix then began to chase Larry around his apartment, strangely with Larry laughing the whole time, with murder on his mind.

* * *

As it got closer to seven in the evening, Miles got ready to leave his office and thought about the sudden call he got from Larry again.

 

"He told me that Wright wanted to meet with me at Gourd Lake. But why?" Miles said quietly to himself, this question troubling him to no end since he got the phone call.

 _It must be because Wright wanted to break it to me himself about how he feels about Butz._ Miles thought, answering himself, letting out a small and depressed sigh.

Then he shook his head as he realized it was Larry that gave him this message, not Phoenix himself.

 _It did seem odd that Wright didn't ask me to meet him on his own…could this be some sort of idiot joke by Butz?_  Miles then thought, starting to doubt whether going was a good idea or not.

Miles got into his car, actually turning the music up in his car as he drove, trying desperately to escape the very thoughts in his head, all of them about how he let Phoenix slip through his fingers.

 _What could Wright possibly see in Butz? What does he have that I—_ Miles abruptly stopped this train of thought, suddenly realizing that he was actually comparing himself with Larry.

He took a deep breath and gripped his steering wheel a bit tighter as he drove, realizing that what Maya said really had gotten to him.

 _I've…lost him…I had my chance and I threw it away the minute I abandoned him a year ago,_ Miles thought, feeling a pang in his heart as he finally admitted this to himself,  _I saw how hurt and angry he was when I first returned…and could I really blame him?_

Miles finally returned to his apartment complex, and then he pulled into his spot, but he did not exit his car right away. He let his head rest against his steering wheel, feeling just a bit of despair, convinced that he truly had lost Phoenix.

Taking another deep breath, he steeled himself, pushed himself out of his car, locking his car and thinking,  _I have to see him…I might have ruined my chances with him, but the least I can do is hear him out for whatever he wants to tell me…I owe him that much._

Miles made his way into his apartment, getting ready to meet with Phoenix at Gourd Lake at seven o' clock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After Phoenix throttled Larry appropriately for arranging this meeting with Miles without his consent, he decided that he should just go straight to the lake to sort out what exactly he would tell Miles when he came, not knowing what Miles was expecting him to say exactly. He also wanted to avoid Maya for the time being, deciding that seeing the person he thought was the object of Miles' affection would not be a good idea at this point, already feeling like he just might cry when he saw Miles again.

 _I just have to tell him how I feel…I don't think I can take holding it in anymore…_ Phoenix thought sadly to himself, slumping down on a bench by the lake.

It practically tore him up inside to think that after he'd been scared Miles would rot in prison for the rest of his life, after he'd thought he'd never see Miles again, after everything he'd been through with Miles, he still never managed to get the courage to tell him how he truly felt about him.

For a long time he was sure that the feelings ran much deeper than just friendship, and Miles' absence just intensified these feelings.

 _I have to be strong…I need to be happy he wants to open up to someone…even if that person isn't me. He's still near me…and as long as he stays near me, that'll be good enough._  Phoenix thought, a few tears suddenly and unconsciously escaping from his eyes.

With that last thought, Phoenix just stared out over the lake with a melancholy look on his face, finally drifting off into sleep without even realizing it. This is when the rain began to fall.

* * *

 

Miles arrived at Gourd Lake Park at about 6:30, getting there a little earlier since Larry didn't tell him exactly where Phoenix would be meeting him in the park, realizing the only way he would find Phoenix would be to take a walk around the lake until he saw him.

 _Butz_   _better not have sent me on some sort of wild goose chase, especially in the rain! If this was some sort of joke, then I'm going to have his neck!_ Miles thought in annoyance, almost sure that Phoenix wouldn't be here at this rate.

As he walked briskly around the lake, holding tightly to his umbrella, he suddenly caught sight of someone sitting on a bench in front of the lake. He walked closer to investigate, and soon enough, he realized that it was Phoenix. But something looked off about him. He looked very still and his eyes were closed. Miles could see that he was completely drenched in the rain, so he figured Phoenix must have been there for quite a while.

Abruptly getting a sinking feeling, Miles thought,  _Oh, God, something is wrong!_

Miles then dropped his umbrella, rushed up to Phoenix, put his hands on Phoenix's shoulders, shaking him slightly and speaking loudly, "Phoenix! God, Phoenix!!"

Miles had completely lost his cool, thinking frantically,  _I don't know what I'd do with myself if I lost him like this!_

But fortunately, before Miles could really get hysterical, Phoenix began to stir with the shaking and yelling. Slowly his eyes opened to see Miles' face right in front of him.

Since he was still a little groggy and still unable to think exactly straight, Phoenix gave him a small, but sweet smile, and he whispered affectionately, "Miles…"

Seeing Phoenix smile at him that way and to hear him say his name like that made so many conflicting emotions rise up in Miles. He was so relieved that Phoenix was alright, but these things showcased exactly what could not be his, so it was some what of a bittersweet feeling that coursed through him.

Miles did not have long to ponder this, since the cold and the still falling rain seemed to bring Phoenix back to his senses. Phoenix shook his head, and then he looked at Miles in surprise.

"Oh, Edgeworth! God, I must have fallen asleep on the bench!" Phoenix said with some embarrassment, giving Miles a sheepish smile.

At this, Miles sat beside Phoenix on the bench, his umbrella now completely forgotten and he said in a dry tone, "Way to give me a scare, Wright. With all the enemies we make in our business, I would think you would keep your guard up a little better."

"You…were worried about me?" Phoenix said in surprise, raising a questioning eyebrow at Miles.

Miles pressed his lips into a thin line and said, "Don't think too much of it, Wright. I would hardly want you get murdered."

"Ahh, yeah…" Phoenix said, then looking away from Miles, his mind suddenly brought back to why he was here to meet with Miles in the first place.

After they sat in awkward silence for a few moments, Miles finally spoke, unable to take it anymore, "Look, Wright, I talked to Maya, and I realize – "

Phoenix took this opportunity to cut Miles off, not really wanting to hear him say how he felt about Maya, "I have to tell you something, Edgeworth. This meeting was Larry's idea, but I think – "

"You don't have to say it Wright, I get it." Edgeworth took his turn to cut Phoenix off this time, speaking in a cautious tone, himself not wanting Phoenix to tell him how he felt about Larry.

Then a desperateness snuck into Phoenix's tone as he put his hands on Miles' shoulders and he said, "No, I have to. I really have to say this to you."

The tone of Phoenix's voice and the determination Miles saw in Phoenix's eyes made him stop speaking and all he could do was look back into Phoenix's deep blue eyes, unable to resist how they made him feel like jelly whenever Phoenix looked at him this way. Phoenix then let go of Miles and then started to speak.

 _I have to listen to him, even if I'm not going to like what I'm going to hear…after everything I put him through, it's the least I can do._ Miles thought to himself, trying to prepare for what he thought Phoenix was going to tell him.

"I know I've mentioned that trial we had in our class when we were kids before, but really, I feel like it was a turning point in my life. Having someone standing up for me like that, even when they didn't really know me? That was the best feeling in the world…just knowing that someone believed in me." Phoenix said, looking at Miles meaningfully.

Miles still thought Phoenix was talking about Larry, so he just gave a small nod and said, "Hmm…"

Phoenix just pushed on, trying to get everything out before he lost his nerve, "That was just so important to me, and so I held on to the memory so tightly, even now. I think deep down, I felt something, but it took me years to realize that it was something more than just gratitude."

Phoenix looked away from Miles again, knowing that the last bit of what he had to say was most important, but unfortunately, it was also the hardest thing. Miles wasn't sure how much more of this he could take himself, seeing how deeply Phoenix seemed to care about Larry, but he kept these feelings in for Phoenix's sake.

Gathering his last bit of courage, he looked into Miles' eyes, feeling like it was unbelievable torture to be so close to someone he wanted so badly, but his feelings had built up to a point where he had to tell Miles before he burst, no matter what the outcome.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I love you, Miles…I have for a long time. I just never had the nerve to tell you. I know how you feel about Maya now, but I just couldn't hold this in anymore." Phoenix said emotionally, everything pouring out as if a dam broke, "But, please, don't think I'm expecting you to do anything about this…all I want is for you to be happy."

Miles had a response prepared along the lines of, 'I am happy for you, Wright.', but then when Phoenix's words actually sunk in, his eyes went wide and his mouth all but dropped open. He couldn't say anything for a few moments, leaving Phoenix looking at him awkwardly, wondering if he said something to upset Miles, and he was entirely unprepared when Miles suddenly sprung into action, possessing his mouth without another word.

Miles didn't know what came over him to suddenly kiss Phoenix this way when they hadn't even hugged once, but he simply couldn't control himself, now that he knew that Phoenix was his all along. Phoenix let out a small, shocked noise when he felt Miles' lips suddenly on his, but he did not resist at all, the feelings brought on by the kiss coursing through him forcefully and rapidly.

They both kissed until they had to breathe, both of them gasping for air as they took the breather. During this time, both of them came back to their senses and realized what just happened.

"Wait a second, so you don't like Maya?" Phoenix finally said, now looking at Miles in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Wright? Whatever gave you that idea?" Miles replied, now also confused, raising an eyebrow at Phoenix.

"I…well, I thought…you know, since you took her out to dinner…" Phoenix said hesitantly, now getting embarrassed since he was clearly wrong.

"That dinner was my way of thanking Maya for all of her help and support, nothing else." Miles said simply, giving Phoenix an amused smirk.

Phoenix smiled back at Miles, happy to hear that he didn't have to worry about losing Miles to someone else. Then Miles spoke again.

"Wright…what I was trying to say before you kept interrupting me was that Maya told me…you and Butz…" Miles said awkwardly, never finding it easy to talk about subjects such as these.

"Oh!" Phoenix said in surprise at first, but he rolled his eyes and said, "Maya just jumped to conclusions. She just thought that I said I liked Larry, and I thought it was funny, so I didn't correct her. I didn't think she'd go and tell everyone after that."

Phoenix just shook his head in slight amusement, knowing that Maya would never change.

"So there is nothing between you and Butz?" Miles asked, feeling even more relieved.

"Nope!" Phoenix said, a grin forming on his face, just so happy that they finally cleared up all the misconceptions they had, now nothing between them at all.

At this point, it had finally stopped raining, but neither of them noticed the weather one bit, just glad to be in each other's company.

"So…ummm…where does this leave us?" Phoenix finally asked, knowing that it would be best to have this discussion now, wanting to get all these emotional revelations out of the way, knowing he had been through enough in this one day to last him a long time.

"I think…I'd be willing to explore this relationship further…Phoenix." Miles said, feeling very vulnerable, especially when he used Phoenix's first name, deciding that he should get in the practice of calling him by his first name from now on.

The smile on Phoenix's face turned just a bit mischievous as he drew closer to Miles, putting his arms around him to hug him tightly, and then he leaned his head close to Miles' ear and whispered, "Me too…Miles…"

Phoenix's whisper caused a pleasant shiver unlike anything Miles had ever felt before to run down his spine, and in response, Miles just smiled, returning Phoenix's embrace. Eventually Miles pulled back, looking at Phoenix for a second, and unable to resist, he leaned in for another kiss. Just as their lips touched, Phoenix's phone suddenly went off.

Phoenix pulled back from Miles reluctantly, letting out a little sigh, getting his phone out of his coat, and answering it, "Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney."

"Hey, Nick!"

Miles could easily hear it was Maya who called.

"What's up, Maya?" Phoenix said, just dying to end this conversation and get back to what he was doing before the call.

"Well, I've been called back to Kurain, even if I was just there this weekend! They wanted me to help with some of the channeling training in the morning tomorrow at the school, so I should be back by the evening latest." Maya said.

"Oh, that's fine, you can come in as soon as you can." Phoenix said quickly, making it obvious he was in a hurry.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then! And have fun with Larry!" Maya said in her regular cheery tone.

"Umm…" Phoenix said in amusement, "Bye, Maya."

"Bye!" she said, finally hanging up the phone.

Phoenix hung up his phone and then he turned to Miles and gave him a playful little smirk, saying, "Well, it looks like I'm going to be home all alone tonight…unless you'll join me…"

Miles caught Phoenix's drift and smiled back similarly, replying in a coy tone, "Perhaps I will."

Phoenix and Miles were still asleep the next morning, long after the sun rose, being up quite late the night before. Miles started coming out of sleep first, usually one to get up early in the morning for work, but he already knew, this was one day of work he was willing to skip. When Miles finally opened his eyes, they settled on Phoenix's peaceful sleeping face, and Miles just couldn't resist giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and snuggling a little closer to him. In response, Phoenix let out a little sigh in his sleep and snuggled back a little, a small smile tugging on his lips.

Miles gave Phoenix one more kiss on the forehead, and then carefully extracted himself from the bed to not wake Phoenix up, quickly making his way to the bathroom, intending fully to return to the bed with Phoenix after.

Maya was happy that the training exercises that she was to help with ended up being much shorter than she was expecting, so she hurried back to Phoenix's apartment early in the afternoon, really wanting to hear all the details of the time he spent with Larry.

Opening the door, she walked in saying, "Hey, Nick, I'm back early!"

At this time, Miles had the misfortune of walking out of the bathroom, clad only his boxers, and immediately he locked eyes with Maya.

"Mr.—I mean, Miles?!" Maya said, almost forgetting to call him Miles in her complete shock.

At this point, Miles flushed entirely red, having the unbelievable urge to run back into the bathroom and lock the door, but he knew that definitely would not solve the problem.

Trying to maintain at least some air of dignity, Miles replied softly with a small nod, "Maya."

But he found it quite hard to feel very dignified while talking to someone in his underwear. Maya just kept staring at him, trying to take this situation in, and at the same time she seemed to be studying him, all of this making Miles severely uncomfortable.

With her eyes still wide at his appearance, she finally said, "What are you doing here? I mean…like…this…"

For once in his life, Miles found himself without some witty comeback or biting remark, just awkwardly mumbling, "I…ummm…well, you see…"

When Miles was caught by Maya in the hall, Phoenix had just noticed that he was alone in the bed, so he'd decided to find out where Miles had gone. He got out of bed and walked out into the hall, and the first thing he saw was Miles standing there. He was about to ask Miles why he was just standing there, when he noticed that Miles seemed to be looking at someone. He was shocked to find out this someone was none other than Maya Fey.

"Maya!" Phoenix said in surprise, blushing as badly as Miles was, stammering as he continued to speak, "How—I mean…why—when did you get here?"

Maya conveniently ignored all of Phoenix's questions and just asked, "What's going on here?!"

Miles blushed even deeper at the question, and Phoenix realized that things would be better for everyone if they could only get some clothes on.

"Maya, we'll all talk after we get dressed, okay?" Phoenix said, shaking his head in complete embarrassment, grabbing Miles' hand to pull him back into the bedroom since Miles seemed to be frozen to the spot.

Miles was just so in shock that his legs didn't comply at first when Phoenix pulled him, so he ended up getting yanked into the room as Phoenix shut the door behind them. Maya inched closer to the door to listen to what they might be saying, since she was completely confused as to what was going on.

"You should have set her straight from the beginning, Phoenix. Now this situation looks even worse!" Miles grumbled as he got his pants and shirt on.

"I agree with you, but we still need to figure out how we're going to explain this to her." Phoenix said, also trying to get his clothes on as quickly as possible.

"We should just tell her the truth, that's all we can do." Miles said, putting a hand to his forehead, feeling like he'd never been in as embarrassing a situation as this in his entire life.

When Phoenix felt like they were appropriately clothed, he opened the door and to his surprise, Maya almost fell on him as she tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. When Phoenix gave her an admonishing look, she just let out an awkward laugh and stepped back from the door so that they could all take a seat in the living room.

Phoenix could tell that Maya was just bursting with questions, but he decided to speak before she succeeded in prying too much into their personal lives, "Maya, look, I told you, I never liked Larry that way."

"But what about everything you were saying about the reason you became a lawyer and all that?" Maya said, an absolutely confused expression on her face.

Phoenix would have laughed at this expression if it wasn't for the fact that Maya had just caught the both of them in their underwear.

Phoenix blushed a little and replied in a shy tone, "Maya, I was talking about Miles when we had that conversation, not Larry. When you thought it was Larry, I didn't try too hard to convince you it wasn't since I didn't expect things to get so blown out of proportion."

"Oh, Nick, and Miles told me he liked you when we went out to dinner too! If I'd known this sooner, I'd have told you too!" Maya said, giving Phoenix her typical angry face, seeming like she forgot Miles was sitting right there with them.

Now it was Miles' turn to blush yet again, just staying silent to not attract attention to himself, but as soon as Maya said it, Phoenix looked at Miles in surprise.

"You told her…you liked me?" Phoenix said in surprise, a tiny smile just touching his lips as he spoke.

"When she mentioned something about you and Butz…it…slipped out." Miles quickly admitted, not making eye contact with Phoenix, thoroughly embarrassed since Maya was witnessing this conversation.

"Ahh…" Phoenix replied softly, blushing a little more.

"So, this whole time, you liked Miles, not Larry?" Maya asked one more time, just clarifying any doubt left in her mind.

Phoenix turned back to Maya and said, the small smile still on his lips, "Yeah…I've never loved anyone else…"

Even if Miles was blushing to the roots at this point, he felt a little smile coming to his face as well, feeling incredibly touched by what Phoenix said.

Suddenly Maya's expression changed to look happy and excited instead of confused, and she said, "Aww, that's just so cute! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, Nick? I would have helped you guys get together way sooner!"

At this comment from Maya, both of them couldn't help but turn their eyes on her with their eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Ummm…I think you've really helped enough, Maya." Phoenix said dryly, but he was clearly amused since things did turn out well in the end because of her.

There was a silence for a moment and before Maya could ask any nosy questions, Phoenix spoke again.

"Oh, by the way, you can have today off at the office…I wasn't going to come in today anyway." Phoenix said with a small smile, and when he saw Maya opening her mouth again, he continued to speak before she could, "And…I really would appreciate it if you could keep this thing between Miles and me mostly to yourself."

Maya stopped speaking for a moment, her mouth dropping open, finally saying, "What?! Oh, come on, Nick!"

"I just don't want us to be the next big story in the tabloids." Phoenix said, shaking his head as he pictured Lotta Hart following the both of them around, trying to get the 'best shots' of them both.

Maya seemed to consider this carefully, and when she finally came to a conclusion, she said, "Alright, fine. As long as you promise to tell me how you guys got together. And don't even think of leaving one detail out!"

"Maya, I can't – " Phoenix started to say in resistance, but when he saw the determined look in her eye, he knew that she would pry those details from him one way or another, so he figured there was no use in putting up a fight.

Letting out a sigh, he said, "Okay, fine."

Miles happily stayed out of this conversation, this whole affair embarrassing enough as it was.

With this, Maya stood quickly from where she was sitting, now giving both of them a teasing smile as she said, "Well, I think I'll just get going then, especially since I obviously interrupted something here."

At this, both of them blushed entirely for the second time, and Phoenix weakly objected, "Maya, it wasn't – "

"Bye, Nick, bye, Miles!" Maya said with a big smile, exiting the apartment quickly, not even giving either of them a chance to reply.

When the door closed, they just both looked after her for a moment, unable to believe what had just happened, both them silently deciding that most of the encounter was better forgotten for the time being. Finally they looked back at each other. Giving Miles a warm smile, Phoenix slid closer to him on the couch they were both sitting on until their sides were touching.

Phoenix leaned forward until his head was quite close to Miles' and he said quietly, "I'm actually really glad Maya said something, even if she wasn't quite sure what was going on. Who knows how long it would have taken us to tell each other how we feel?"

Miles chuckled lightly and replied, "I know Maya had good intentions, but I hope she'll stop jumping to conclusions from now on."

Phoenix had to laugh at this and say, "Well, she wouldn't be Maya if she didn't…I don't think she'd ever change."

After Phoenix spoke, another short silence settled between them, but this time it was a companionable silence rather than an awkward one. Finally Phoenix moved his head until their foreheads were touching.

"Anyway…Maya was right…she  _did_  interrupt something." Phoenix whispered with a little smirk on his face, raising a hand to gently run it through Miles' hair.

"Well then…shall we continue?" Miles said in a tone that was decidedly seductive, unable to resist smirking himself, quickly closing the distance between their faces.


End file.
